Electron dose calculation using multiple-scattering theory: second-order multiple-scattering theory.
This article is part of a series on the calculation of electron dose using multiple-scattering theory. It presents systematically the second-order multiple-scattering theory which is a generalization of the (first-order) Fermi-Eyges theory, outlining its derivation and giving explicit formulas for its defining functions. The predictions of the Fermi-Eyges theory and of the second-order theory are compared with modified Monte Carlo calculations, demonstrating the increased accuracy of the latter multiple-scattering theory. We derive and compare broad-beam angular distributions for the two theories, and note the effect of large-angle scattering upon dose profiles. Finally, we present the second-order theory in Fourier-transformed space, which is appropriate to a high-speed dose-calculation algorithm using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) technique.